Good moves for the Avs. Forsberg really is a low risk pick up in that they didn't have to give anything up for him. I say limit his minutes, and sort of make him a power play specialist...until the playoffs.

Salei is solid, and Foote brings a lot of meanness on the ice with him. Something the Avs have lacked since they lost both he and Rob Blake. The price is steep, but they should be able to re-sign him since he waived his no trade clause ONLY for the Avs. Apparently he's going to play tonight.

I really like getting salei your right hes a physical player this team has lacked meaness and hard checks for a long time it will be good to see it return.

What a fantastic game tonight. Both goalies stood on their heads. Adam Foote was awesome, and Super Joe scores a clutch goal with 15 ticks left. Tay-o-door shut down the Cansucks in the shoot out, and Svatos puts the nail in the coffin.

ETC.: Defenseman Brett Clark will miss the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery Wednesday for his dislocated shoulder. The Avalanche had hoped more conservative measures would solve the problem and enable Clark to return this year

ETC.: Defenseman Brett Clark will miss the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery Wednesday for his dislocated shoulder. The Avalanche had hoped more conservative measures would solve the problem and enable Clark to return this year

That sucks hes a great young defensemen and was probably the reason foote was brought back.

Thoughts that have remained dormant for years have worked to the front of my brain this week. Wisps of memory have emerged, unbidden, and they're telling me that we've all been played by Adam Foote, that he is not the leader of men that he purported to be, and not just because he quit the Blue Jackets.

I worked the Hartford Whalers beat for two seasons, 1995 to '97. The owner was bent on moving the franchise, but he made it sound like he wanted to stay. It was a two-bit carnival performance. Anyway, before the relocation plans became official, a story broke about defenseman Gerald Diduck putting his house up for sale. Diduck said this was pure coincidence, which, of course, was a crock. I don't blame Diduck. As a player, he was caught in the middle of a bad situation.

The year before, Brendan Shanahan, the best player on the Whalers roster, a Rick Nash type in his prime, begged his way out of Hartford. Shanahan fancied himself too big for the city. He said he wanted to play for a winner and hinted at a desire to be with a more stable franchise. He sat at a news conference, flanked by management, and announced he wanted a trade.

There was an editorial cartoon in the Hartford Courant that showed a little kid weeping as he took his Shanahan jersey out to the curb and put it in the trash can. Many fans identified with this sense of betrayal. Others at least appreciated Shanahan's candor and figured if he didn't want to play for the team, at least he was man enough to admit it. So, ship him. Shanahan took abuse as penance until he was traded to Detroit.

Lesson No. 1: Foote said he put his Dublin house on the market last summer because he wanted to "downsize." What he didn't say was he was hunting for a smaller house in the greater Denver area.

Lesson No. 2: Foote professed shock that he was traded to the Colorado Avalanche -- yet he rigged the game for just this outcome.

Here's what we know:

Jackets management wanted to continue negotiating with Foote. It wanted him here for the final stretch of the season. It was willing to lose him without compensation this summer, if it came to that -- which is a testament to its soaring regard for the captain. But Foote wanted $4 million a year for two years, an exorbitant price -- and if he didn't get it, his demand was to be moved to Colorado. And make no mistake, it was a demand.

A private jet, possibly leased by Foote's agent, took off from Pittsburgh on Monday night -- some 16 hours before the trade deadline -- and parked itself at Port Columbus overnight. This is the jet that whisked Foote to Calgary in time for him to suit up for the Avalanche on Tuesday night. Foote prearranged to have a pile of tickets ready for his friends and family.

Here's is some educated guesswork:

Foote regretted the day he signed a free-agent contract with the Blue Jackets in 2005. He always planned on retiring in Colorado, something he revealed this week during contract negotiations. No doubt, he will sign for less money than

the Jackets were offering ($3.5 million a year) when he gets his final contract with the Avalanche this summer. Maybe a part of him wanted to finish the job here, but more of him wanted to get back to the high desert plain.

Fine. But at least be a man about it. When you're the captain and you dump your teammates and slight a city and its fans, be honest about your actions -- especially after you've cashed $12 million worth of checks. Don't hide behind a contract demand that was never going to be met. Don't profess to be shocked at a trade when you know there's a private jet waiting at the airport. And don't talk about "downsizing."

The Blue Jackets were five points out the playoffs when Foote fled. He obviously felt he didn't owe the fans anything, didn't owe his teammates anything, didn't owe the organization anything -- not even the truth. His exit strategy was to play us like dupes.

The Colorado Avalanche should be excited about the way they're opening March, having a playoff spot within reach and anticipating the imminent return of Peter Forsberg.

The Avalanche continue their playoff push Saturday when they host the lowly Los Angeles Kings.

The Avs (33-26-6) are tied with Nashville for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, but are also within striking distance of first place in the Northwest Division with 17 games to play.

Colorado is coming off a 3-2 shootout win over Vancouver on Wednesday, as captain Joe Sakic scored the tying goal with 14.7 seconds left and added another in the shootout.

"Any time you can come from behind and find a way to get two points, it's a big lift for your hockey club," said Sakic, who has a goal and an assist in three games after missing 38 with a sports hernia.

The Avs are expecting another player to return soon.

Forsberg, who played for the Colorado franchise for 10 years before the league's lockout in 2004-05, agreed to a $5 million, one-year deal Monday after sitting out the first five months of the season with a right foot injury. Forsberg was named the 2003 NHL MVP, and led the Avs to Stanley Cup championships in 1996 and 2001.

Forsberg said he won't play in this game, but he could return Tuesday night against Vancouver.

"Every game we've injected a new player," said coach Joel Quenneville, who has also gotten top forwards Paul Stastny (appendectomy) and Ryan Smyth (broken ankle) back in the past two weeks. "We've just got to keep building. Peter should be back soon and that should give us more life."

Stastny has two goals and an assist in four games after missing the previous 15. He has two goals and an assist in three games against the Kings (26-35-4) this season.

The Avs open a four-game homestand with this contest, but they have been terrible at the Pepsi Center lately.

After starting the season 15-3-0 at home, Colorado is 3-8-2 in Denver since Dec. 27. The Avs have been outscored 14-5 during a four-game home losing streak, and have not dropped five in a row at home since an eight-game skid from Oct. 21-Nov. 24, 1990, when the franchise was the Quebec Nordiques.

In their only game against the Kings at the Pepsi Center this season on Dec. 29, the Avs lost 3-1. Colorado, which has won this season's two meetings in Los Angeles, has lost four of its last five home games to the Kings.

Avs goaltender Jose Theodore made 29 saves on Wednesday, improving to 3-1-0 with a 2.15 goals-against average in his last four games after losing his previous four starts. Theodore, who is just 1-5-0 with a 3.42 GAA at home since Jan. 22, is 1-1-0 with a 2.01 GAA against the Kings this season.

Los Angeles fell to Edmonton 5-4 on Thursday, losing for the fourth time in five games. The Kings have allowed a league-high 217 goals, including 11 in their last two contests.

"If you look at the game it wasn't a matter of them making great plays it was a matter of us making poor plays," said Dustin Brown, who scored twice Thursday. "When you make that many mistakes it's tough to win games."

Brown has one goal and two assists versus the Avalanche this season.

Dan Cloutier stopped 22 shots on Thursday in his third straight start for No. 1 goalie Jason LaBarbera, who is nursing a groin injury. LaBarbera's status for this game is unknown.